Kathleen is a licensed pilot who loves seeing the earth unfold beneath her like a giant map. She helps ROI’s clients soar to new heights, too.
Kathleen Dammann
As a NASA researcher for eight years, Kathleen Dammann surveyed the Pacific Ocean from the cockpit of a 747 and spent many long hours studying satellite imagery. Over time, these tasks taught her to see the big picture, recognize challenges early, and work quickly to identify the right solution.
“I like transformation,” Kathleen said. “I like to take existing systems and find ways to transform and improve them. Sometimes people don’t have the time or bandwidth to step back for a fresh perspective. Usually, if you do that, and talk with the right people, you can figure out a better way.”
Kathleen has worked in a wide range of roles over the past 20 years: as a computer engineer at NASA’s Ames Research Center, as a web development consultant at the Stanford University Medical Center, and as a programmer and system manager at Stanford Business School. More recently, she served as the admissions director and director of marketing and enrollment at the Gateway School, in Santa Cruz.
In all of these organizations, effective communication has been critical to success. “Communication is essential; it strengthens everything else,” she said. “You can have a great strategy, a great mission and vision, a great product – but you need to communicate that. It’s really key to an organization.”
Kathleen earned a BA in Formal Systems and an MS in Computer Science, both from Stanford University. She joined the ROI team in 2010, attracted by its focus on internal communication, its positive culture and her capacity to contribute key technical expertise.
When she’s not working, she enjoys photography and spending time with her three boys – often attending their soccer, karate and volleyball tournaments.